Pressurized continuous flow liquid applicator with shutoff valve

ABSTRACT

A system for the application of liquid to a surface, such as by painting, washing and waxing, in which the liquid source is maintained under a constant superatmospheric pressure and a flexible cable is connected between the pressurized liquid source and the liquid applicator. A shutoff valve can selectively pinchoff the cable in order to cut off the liquid supply to the applicator. The liquid applicator can be fixed or movable to selected positions and may be in the form of a roller.

O 1 Umted States Patent [151 3,640,630

Walker Feb. 8, 1972 [54] PRESSURIZED CONTINUOUS FLOW 3,195,170 7/1965 Howard ..401/188 LIQUID APPLICATOR WITH SHUTOFF 3,503,691 3/1970 Kirch ..401/188 VALVE 3,079,628 3/1963 Wright ..401/204 3,304,573 2/1967 Stefely.... ....401/187 72 Inventor; Hal-old w whitcstone, 1,535,304 4/1925 Gerdin ..401/ 188 [73] Assignee: Applications Unlimited, Inc., New York, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 408,722 4/1934 Great Britain ..401/188 [22] Filed: June 26, 1970 Primary ExaminerLawrence Charles [21] Appl 50,263 AttorneyNolte and Nolte Related US. Application Data [57 1 ABSTRACT continuation'in'pm of A system for the application of liquid to a surface, such as by I969 abandoned" painting, washing and waxing, in which the liquid source is maintained under a constant superatmospheric pressure and a I52] US. Cl ..401/188, 401/204 flexible cable is connected between the pressurized liquid [51 Int. Cl. ..A46b 11/02 source and the liquid applicaton A h t ff valve can Selective- [58] Field of Search ..401/187-l90, 203, 1 i h fl h abl i rd r to cut off the liquid supply to /2 4 the applicator. The liquid applicator can be fixed or movable to selected positions and may be in the form of a roller. [56] References Cited 8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,143,756 8/1964 Sisko ..401/188 PATENTEBFEB 8 I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 wmwm maw %Y B PRESSURIZED CONTINUOUS FLOW LIQUID APPLICATOR WITII SI-IUTOFF VALVE This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 794,175 filed Jan. 27, 1969, said application now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of a liquid applicator, such as a paint brush or roller employed in painting, involves the frequent dipping of the paint brush or roller in a paint can or a paint tray, respectively. In many cases the painter uses a ladder or scaffold which requires frequent bending to dip the brush or roller in the paint container and also may involve the descending from the ladder in order to dip the implements in paint containers resting on the floor. This type of painting operation obviously involves a great deal of time to intermittently renew the paint supply which thereby lessens the speed of painting. It is, therefore, extremely desirable to have a continual source of paint supply, or other liquid supply fed to the applicator, such as a paint brush or roller, so that the painter or cleaner may upon command, by means of a valve at his fingertips, turn the paint or other liquid supply on and off.

It should be apparent that although pressurized painting devices are known, none of these devices have the distinct ad vantages of the apparatus of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pressurized, continuous-flow liquid applicator which is portable and may be worn and carried by the user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pressurized, continuous-flow liquid applicator having an adjustable width of brush, roller or squeegee.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a painting method which is more efficient than present known method and which minimizes paint wastage and involves much less drip and spatter.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a painting or cleaning device which has less friction and requires less effort since paint or liquid is dispensed from within the applicator to thereby lubricate the entire applicator surface when it is being used. Moreover, the paint or the liquid spreads on the applied surface more evenly.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid applicator which can be of a convex or a concave form, to be particularly effective in painting or cleaning structures having curves, such as boats.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a painting system which does not permit the paint to thicken from continuous air exposure, and additionally used less paint.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a liquid applicator for painting, window washing, car washing, waxing or any type of liquid application. Moreover, the brushes, rollers and squeegee are disposable thereby reducing the clean-up time to a minimum.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a paint container packaged in the form of a flexible plastic bag which can be inserted in a portable pressurized container.

An object of the present invention is to provide a control valve which closes the flexible tube by pinching the exterior thereof thereby making the flow of paint or liquid semiautomatic.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air pumping device in the handle of the brush or squeegee which pumps up liquid to the brush or squeegee merely by the natural motion of the brush or roller in painting or by the manipulation of the squeegee in cleaning.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a paint applicator surface which is constituted of a plastic foam material that is provided with an adhesive surface for removably fixing the plastic foam to the applicator holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of specific embodiments of the invention together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 22 is an embodiment of the present invention shown partly in elevation and partly in cross section.

FIG. 23 is a view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 22 taken along the lines 23-23 thereof.

FIG. 24 is a view taken along the lines 24-24 of FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is another view taken along the lines 25-25 of FIG. 26.

FIG. 26 is a view taken along the lines 26-26 of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a partly sectional and a partly elevational view of another arrangement of the invention shown in FIG. 22 in which a roller is removably inserted in a hollow handle.

FIG. 28 is a partly sectional and a partly elevational view of another embodiment of the invention having both a sponge applicator and a squeegee.

FIG. 29 is a view taken along the lines 29-29 of FIG. 28 and FIG. 30 is a further arrangement forming part of the present invention in which a handle extension is provided for the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 22 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the canister 46 is provided with an air tight bottom cover 122. Secured to the inside surface of the bottom cover 122 is a yieldable support in the form of a rubber ring 124. An inner receptacle 126, having concial walls, rests on rubber ring 124 and is provided with a bead or projection 128 at its open end. Nonnally, the flange 128 firmly engages the adjacent inner wall 46a of the canister 46 to thereby seal the space located between the receptacle 126 and the wall 46a of the canister 46. However, when bulb 58 is squeezed and the inner receptacle 126 and the above is pressurized the receptacle 126 is moved downwardly against the rubber ring 124 a distance sufficient to cause the flange 128 to disengage from wall 46a thereby opening a communication between the receptacle and the space 130. Since the space 130 is at atmospheric pressure the pressure in the receptacle 126 is thereby relieved to that space if a predetermined pressure level is surpassed in the receptacle. As seen in FIG. 23, a hollow handle 132 is provided with a base 134 for receiving a liquid applicator 36 having a guide vane 136. A fitting 138 is connected to the base carrier 140 for the liquid applicator 36. One end 18a of tubing 18 is connected to fitting I38 whereby pressurized liquid in the tubing may be spread out in the liquid applicator 36 after being directed under pressure against the guide vane 136. A spring valve 141 is provided which nor mally pinches the plastic tubing [8 closed so that there is no flow of pressurized fluid until the valve 141 is depressed in the direction of the handle 132. Naturally, when the spring valve 141 is depressed the fluid under pressure is permitted to pass through the tubing 18 and into the liquid applicator 36.

FIGS. 2426 show the guide vane 136 embedded in liquid applicator 36 whereby it should be apparent that the pressurized fluid is conducted in such a manner that the same is projected against opposite sides of the guide vane I36 thereby ensuring that the fluid, for example paint, is directed to various portions of the liquid applicator 36 for even application or spreading of the paint.

A roller 142 is illustrated in FIG. 27 having a rigid hollow arm 144 having an opening 146 into the interior of roller 142. A fitting 148 at the other end of the hollow arm 144 is securely held in hollow handle 132 and the flexible tubing 18 is connected at 18a to the fitting 148. A spring valve I41 is shown mounted on the handle I32 and is operated in the manner hereinbefore described. It should be clear that the roller embodiment described may be used with the same hollow handle I32 that is shown in FIG. 23 for use with a polyurethane plastic foam liquid applicator.

FIG. 28 shows another use of the hollow handle 132 and that is for supporting sponge applicator 150 connected to the tubing 18. A structural member 152 supports not only the sponge applicator 150 but also a squeegee 154 at the opposite side thereof.

A valve arrangement referred to generally by the numeral 156 is constituted of an inner spring 158 provided with a pinching element 160. The end of the inner helical spring 158 remote from the pinching element 160 is fixed to finger piece 162. An outer helical spring 164 is secured at one end to the finger piece 162 and at the other end to the outside surface of hollow handle 132. Thus, when the finger piece 162 is depressed against spring pressure, the pinching element 160 is moved away from engagement with the tubing 18 to thereby open the tubing for the flow of fluid from the receptacle 126 to the sponge applicator 150.

FIG. 30 illustrates an arrangement whereby a handle extension is provided by means of a multiplicity of handle sections 132, 166 and 168 that-interfit by means of male and female connections 170 and 172 respectively. It should be apparent that the number of handle sections and the individual length thereof can be selected dependent upon the total length of the required extension.

What is claimed is:

l. A liquid application system having a flow of pressurized liquid therein comprising: a liquid applicator, a hollow handle for said applicator, a closed container having an outer portable canister provided with an air tight cover and a pressuring device and an inner receptacle for holding the pressurized liquid to be applied, a flexible tube communicating at one end with said liquid applicator and communicating at the other end with said closed container, a valve device operative with said flexible tube for controlling the flow of the pressurized fluid therethrough from said closed container to said liquid applicator, said canister being provided with a yieldable element in the interior bottom surface thereof upon which said inner receptacle rests, and a relief vent in said closed container so positioned that upon the pressuring of said closed container above a predetermined amount of pressure said relief vent becomes operative into an internal portion of said outer portable canister.

2. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said hollow handle is constructed to receive and mount alternately a plurality of different-shaped liquid applicators.

3. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said valve device is a spring-operated member which normally pinchs said flexible tube closed.

4. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid applicator is a spongelike material, and means embedded in said spongelike material for directing said liquid to selected locations in said spongelike material whereby a smooth application of liquid to a selected surface is achieved.

5. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein a space at atmospheric pressure is located between said closed container and inner receptacle, said space being normally closed by a projection on the outer surface of said inner receptacle engaging the adjacent wall of said closed container, said inner receptacle and the projection thereon being movable to a position upon the attainment of a predetermined pressure in said inner receptacle whereby said projection is removed from engagement with said adjacent wall resulting in communication between the pressurized interior of said inner receptacle and said space in order to relieve said inner receptacle.

6. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a yieldable support and said inner receptacle rests on said yieldable support and when moved in one direction against said yieldable support, by means of pressurized fluid in said inner receptacle said projection on the inner receptacle is moved to a position whereby the same is spaced from the adjacent wall of said closed container.

7. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid applicator constitutes a spongelike material, and a squeegee device, and means mounting both said spongelike material and said squeegee device.

8. A lrquld applicator system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said handle is rectangular-shaped in cross section, and a plurality of liquid applicators, each having a fitting provided with an external shape corresponding to the shape of said rectangular cross section of said handle to thereby selectively interfit said fitting in said handle, and said flexible tube passing through said handle. 

1. A liquid application system having a flow of pressurized liquid therein comprising: a liquid applicator, a hollow handle for said applicator, a closed container having an outer portable canister provided with an air tight cover and a pressuring device and an inner receptacle for holding the pressurized liquid to be applied, a flexible tube communicating at one end with said liquid applicator and communicating at the other end with said closed container, a valve device operative with said flexible tube for controlling the flow of the pressurized fluid therethrough from said closed container to said liquid applicator, said canister being provided with a yieldable element in the interior bottom surface thereof upon which said inner receptacle rests, and a relief vent in said closed container so positioned that upon the pressuring of said closed container above a predetermined amount of pressure said relief vent becomes operative into an internal portion of said outer portable canister.
 2. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said hollow handle is constructed to receive and mount alternately a plurality of different-shaped liquid applicators.
 3. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said valve device is a spring-operated member which normally pinchs said flexible tube closed.
 4. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid applicator is a spongelike material, and means embedded in said spongelike material for directing said liquid to selected locations in said spongelike material whereby a smooth application of liquid to a selected surface is achieved.
 5. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein a space at atmospheric pressure is located between said closed contAiner and inner receptacle, said space being normally closed by a projection on the outer surface of said inner receptacle engaging the adjacent wall of said closed container, said inner receptacle and the projection thereon being movable to a position upon the attainment of a predetermined pressure in said inner receptacle whereby said projection is removed from engagement with said adjacent wall resulting in communication between the pressurized interior of said inner receptacle and said space in order to relieve said inner receptacle.
 6. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a yieldable support and said inner receptacle rests on said yieldable support and when moved in one direction against said yieldable support, by means of pressurized fluid in said inner receptacle said projection on the inner receptacle is moved to a position whereby the same is spaced from the adjacent wall of said closed container.
 7. A liquid application system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said liquid applicator constitutes a spongelike material, and a squeegee device, and means mounting both said spongelike material and said squeegee device.
 8. A liquid applicator system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said handle is rectangular-shaped in cross section, and a plurality of liquid applicators, each having a fitting provided with an external shape corresponding to the shape of said rectangular cross section of said handle to thereby selectively interfit said fitting in said handle, and said flexible tube passing through said handle. 